The Mint Million (Grade 3)- $1,000.000 Purse
KD- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 6, 2021

A new stake has been added to the schedule this year, and it is quite a good one. The Mint Million is debuting at KD, and presents a $1,000.000 Purse to be divided amongst the top four finishers. It will allow this track to get some of the attention on a busy Monday that will be the final day of the meets at both SAR and DMR. It is the biggest purse offered on Monday in the game, although jockeys were favoring the big two year old stakes at each of the bigger tracks. We have a field of nine going to post for the race as the trainers look to claim the distinction of being the first to win this stake. Let’s take a look at the field!

#1- Spiral (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Last year, Spiral won the Fourstardave at SAR, and would go on to finish fourth in the BC Mile. We have not seen a lot of him in 2021, as he has only made four starts, but he has been good when he has raced, with two wins. One was an open allowance, and the other being the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple at SAR, which is a $150.000 purse. Mb hasn’t really challenged this horse to a race of this caliber since the BC, but the gelding should be up for it.

#2- Hollywood Hero (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- The trainer got his favorite jockey to come with him to KD for this race, and it will be the fourth time in a row that Carrasco has been aboard. The story here is that Hollywood Hero needs to show that his last race, the Grade 1 United Nations was a complete throw out. It probably is, given the general performance is very unlike this horse. In his start prior, he was second in the Grade 1 Manhattan. He’s won four of his last eight starts and will need to be ready for the wire to come up a little quicker than it has for him in his last couple races.

#3- Stylishly Ugly (Royalty Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Early in his career, Stylishly Ugly ran in a graded stake before breaking his maiden, but once he figured out how to win, he ran off three in a row to justify going back into graded races. He has not won one yet, and a fourth place finish in the Transylvania Stakes in April is his best showing in one. However, he did win the Mucho Macho Man, a $200.000 ungraded stake, which is as good as a graded race here. Last race, the trainer took off the shadow roll and he really struggled. Good to see that is going back on.

#4- Big Aspirations (Hippyheart, ridden by R J Albarado)- Picked up in private sales in January from Maxmillion Farm for $135.250, and ended up winning his first two races in his new silks. One of them was the $110.000 TAM Turf Classic. This saw him get moved into the graded level, and in three such starts, he has been second twice. Most recently, he placed in the spot at the Grade 2 King Edward BC Stakes three weeks ago up at WO. Seems to like going out to the lead early, but so too, does the one next to him.

#5- Beach Xaar (Diablo Diablo, ridden by J Stein)- Like Big Aspirations, Beach Xaar likes to get out right out to the lead from the starting gate, so one of the things to watch for will be if they both still try to implement that plan and how it affects the rest of the field. Overall, Beach Xaar has won three of his twelve starts but none have come in any of the stakes in which he has attempted. Most recently, he ran second in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing at SAR after jumping out to the lead early. Interestingly, Beach Xaar has started from the rail in his last three races, which obviously changes here.

#6 -Time Warrior (Paradise Stable, ridden by J C Ferrer)- A 2020 season that saw him beginning at TUP would culminate with an appearance in the BC Mile. His win in the Grade 3 American Stakes played a big part in getting there, but he struggled in that race as well as the one that followed. He got it back together for the Grade 3 Appleton, winning that race, but is currently dealing with the back to back duds on the resume. We have seen that he is capable of finding his form in a hurry with the Appleton, and his entry here shows the trainer’s confidence. Still, it’s hard to pick him off those two races.

#7- Out Hoofed (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by M J Sanchez)- This is the only horse in the field that has not made $100.000 in earnings just yet but we are likely just beginning to see the best of him now. He’s won two of twelve, so that won’t jump out at you. His last two races have been graded stakes, and he was beaten by four lengths in each of them. The last one was the Grade 1 SAR Derby, where he ran in the middle of the field pretty much all day before ending up eighth. It’s going to take some sort of tactical adjustment to get him in the winners circle.

#8- Cobra Man (Arindel, ridden by Mar Garcia)- When Cobra Man hits the track, it will be his third race in a race month. That started with the SAR Derby, where he was a complete non factor, missing by six lengths, two lengths behind the eighth place finisher from that race that is starting right next to him. He was sent to a sprint after, the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes, where he was third, so the plan here is to split the difference of those two distances and hope that is the winning formula. Maybe this should always be his distance, as he is 3-for-3 running exactly a mile, though none of them in a field close to the caliber of this one.

#9- Sparky Laga (Angelos Stable, ridden by A Bedchizza)- This one was claimed from Night Rider Stables for $30.000 in June, and he has made two starts for his new trainer since then. Both of them resulted in a trip to the winners circle. First, he won an N1X allowance, then beat three others in the $100.000 KD Preview Turf Mile at ELP last month. That’s not the strongest field there, but he does have some graded experience further back in his career, so this is a good challenge for him to take on. He usually finds a way to be in the mix until the very end.

#10- Gran Z- Scratched

Prediction- 1-2-4-8

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES